Heavy-duty (HD) vehicles, such as Class 8 trucks, are often assembled to accommodate specific customer requirements and requests. Satisfying these requirements and requests often requires manual assembly of at least some of the components. Reducing the amount of time or labor needed to manually install a particular part results in reduced assembly costs and higher output. Traditionally, installing the bumper of an HD vehicle requires two persons and a significant amount of time to properly locate and install the bumper on the vehicle frame.
In a typical installation of a bumper on an HD vehicle, the hood is first properly located on the vehicle frame such that the hood to cab cowl gap is within predetermined standards. After the hood is suitably located and installed, the bumper is then positioned such that the hood to bumper gap is within predetermined standards. Because the hood position is normally unique for each vehicle, the installer must subjectively determine whether the bumper is in an appropriate position relative to the hood and whether the hood to bumper gap is acceptable, leading to increased assembly time and lower output.
In addition to the increased time needed for subjectively locating the bumper, actual installation of the bumper normally requires at least two people. After the bumper is properly located on the vehicle frame as described above, a first person must hold the bumper in position while a second person retrieves fasteners and secures the bumper to the vehicle frame.
It is desired to have a bumper mounting system that properly locates the bumper after hood adjustment while minimizing reliance on the subjective determination of the installer and reducing the number of persons required for the installation.